The Supreme Court, on Friday, nullified the results of the Local Government Elections held in Rivers State on October 5, 2024.
The apex court upheld an appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and set aside the November 21, 2024, judgement of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which had validated the elections.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, the court ruled that there was no evidence proving that the conditions outlined in Section 150(3) of the Electoral Act, 2010, were met before the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) conducted the elections.
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Delivering the lead judgement, Justice Jamilu Tukur reinstated an earlier ruling of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from providing the voters’ register to RSIEC for the elections.
Previously, a special panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Onyekachi Otisi, had ruled that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction over the Rivers State local government elections.
The appellate court also criticized the trial court for restricting security agencies from overseeing the elections.
According to the appellate court, Section 28 of the Electoral Act applies only to federal elections, governorship elections, and Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory, not state-conducted local government elections.
However, Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja had earlier halted the Rivers State LG elections, ruling that RSIEC violated legal provisions by fixing an election date without adhering to the required procedures.
He noted that RSIEC failed to publish the mandatory 90-day notice before scheduling the election and did not complete the necessary updates and revisions of the voters’ register.
As a result, Justice Lifu had ordered INEC not to provide the certified voters’ register to RSIEC until all legal requirements were met. He also prohibited RSIEC from using any voter register from INEC for the elections.
The Supreme Court upheld this ruling in its final judgement on Friday.
